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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Top 5 Family Friendly Attractions at Epcot

Um....somebody please tell me what's happened to 2013 already? I feel like it was just yesterday that the year started and now we're already into FEBRUARY?!

How have I hardly blogged this year at all? Oh wait...I know how...LIFE got in the way. I apologize profusely about that. And have good news for you all...well, hopefully it's good news. I mean, I hope it at least allows me to eventually have more free time again.

I am moving! Again!! No...not to Orlando this time. However, I am moving in the right direction. I am headed to Atlanta! I am super excited about this move because I will be MUCH closer than I've ever been to Florida, which of course, means WAY more road trips! I am sure I will find myself in Disney much more often.

So, with all that being said, let's get to this week's article. (Finally!)

I realized a while back that I never quite finished my series of best family friendly attractions at Walt Disney World. So, today, I'm going to look what I think are the Top 5 best attractions for families at Epcot.

Epcot is the park of wonder and discovery. It offers you the opportunity to learn with their special brand of edu-taiment in ways you never thought you could. It has such a great personality in both half of the park, Future World and World Showcase.

Because of this, there are so many great attractions for the whole family at Epcot! Really there are WAY more than 5 that I could list! But I promise I won't cheat this time! :)

Spaceship Earth: No...this isn't the big golf ball...and yes...there is a ride in there. And it's a fabulous ride. The front half of it teaches such great lessons of how communication has existed and mutated over the course of time. Plus, it utilizes AudioAnimatronics, one of the best tools that Disney has in it's arsenal, in my opinion. I know many in the Disney community are down on the back half, which is just a giant cartoon with your face attached to it. (Meet George Jetson...) However, this is still fun for families because you can pick the options that are depicted in the cartoon together and bond over the silliness that entails. The attraction is a good mesh of both serious and fun and that is what I think helps to make this a great attraction for the whole family.

Living With The Land: I know what you're thinking. This is another one
of those edu-tainment attractions. However, stay with me on this.
Because this attraction is great for the whole family. You board a boat
and get to learn about the process of agriculture and how Disney grows
some of it's own fruits and vegetables that are served in the park.
(Make sure to be on the look out for Mickey shaped fruit and veggies!)
The attraction is a very calming one. There is nothing crazy going on
here. You aren't going to go very fast. It is a great attraction for
families because it allows time to bond and discuss what you are
learning while you are on the attraction (Please be mindful of other
guests if talking. They are trying to enjoy the ride as well.) I think
everyone can really get something out of this ride, if they take the
time to actually go over there. Instead of just heading towards Soarin
(albeit, another great family ride), or using it as a place to go while
waiting for your Soarin Fastpass to come around.

The Mexico Pavilion: This area really has it all. It is honestly one of
my favorite pavilions in all of World Showcase. It has great food
(mmm....chips and salsa...and tacos....and burritos....well...you get
the drift). It has great drinks (Hello La Cava del Tequila). It has
interesting history and shopping. And my favorite. The Pavilion takes
you from bright sunlight to nighttime in the Plaza. Plus, it has the
Gran Fiesta Tour. This attraction stars the Three Caballeros (well,
mostly Donald steals the show on this attraction.) It teaches a little
about the culture of Mexico. And it has a darn catchy song. It is
another easy attraction, as it's a boat ride. This attraction is pretty
screen heavy, which I don't love, but it certainly makes up for my
dislike of screens by being so darn cute!

Agent P's World Showcase Adventure: I will readily admit. I haven't
seen this since they changed it over from Kim Possible. However, my
understanding is the attraction is almost the same as it was before with
just a few minor tweaks. With that being said, this is a great
attraction for the whole family. The premise is for the family to
gather around your FONE (Field Operative Notification Equipment) device
which will give you clues to help stop Dr. Doof's evil plans. This game
will take you to one of seven World Showcase countries and you will get
to explore them in depth to decipher the clues. That's what makes this
so fun. You get to complete the mission together, while getting to
explore, in depth, more about the pavilion your in. I know when I did
the missions, I went way more in depth to the countries I was exploring
than I ever did before! It is a great way to have fun and experience
more of Epcot in a way you never expected.

The Seas With Nemo and Friends: Ok...I'm going with the whole Pavilion, but that's only because the pavilion has a lot of really neat things that I think the whole family will get something out of. First, there is the attraction, The Seas With Nemo and Friends. This continuous moving attraction takes you through Nemo's world as he's lost...again. (Do keep in mind that at least for me, the scene with Crush can be a little nausea inducing. I am not prone to motion sickness, but this really gets to me.) You also have Turtle Talk With Crush, which is a fabulous experience where kids get to TALK with Crush! Watch in amazement as you watch these kids have a conversation with the righteous dude! You will SWEAR it's almost real. And if your kid does want to talk to Crush, be prepared....sometimes he talks to the parents too! You also have the ability to walk around the aquarium and marvel at all the fish and sea life that can be found there. I swear, me and Brian just stood there for at least a half an hour watching for the sharks! It is really so cool!

Of course, there are WAY more awesome things for families to do in Epcot. I know this just touched the tip of the iceberg. So that brings me to ask you. What do you think are the best family friendly attractions in this park? Let me know in the comments or on our Facebook page.

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